Lane change determining apparatus, junction entry determining apparatus and method thereof

Abstract

A junction (JC) entry determining method and a lane change determining method are provided. The JC entry determining method includes acquiring, by a controller, positional information of a vehicle surrounding object using radar and determining whether a junction entrance is present using the positional information. A width of a right space of the vehicle is determined using the positional information and a vehicle surrounding environment image is captured. The controller is also configured to determine a type of right lane of the vehicle using the captured image and determine whether the vehicle enters the JC based on whether the JC entrance is present, the width of the right space of the vehicle, and the type of lane.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A junction (JC) entry determining method, comprising:
 acquiring, by a controller, positional information of a vehicle surrounding object using a radar; 
 determining, by the controller, whether a junction (JC) entrance is present using the positional information; 
 determining, by the controller, a width of a right space of the vehicle using the positional information; 
 capturing, by the controller, an image of a vehicle surrounding environment; 
 determining, by the controller, a type of right lane of the vehicle using the captured image; and 
 determining, by the controller, whether the vehicle enters the JC based on whether the JC entrance is present, the width of the right space of the vehicle, and the type of lane, 
 wherein the positional information includes a distance and an angle value from the vehicle to the vehicle surrounding object, and 
 wherein the determining whether the JC entrance is present includes:
 detecting, by the controller, positional information on a guardrail in the positional information; 
 aligning, by the controller, the detected positional information in angle order; and 
 determining, by the controller, whether the JC entrance is present, in response to determining that a discontinuous point at which the distance is increased or reduced to a preset distance or more is prevent by comparing the distances of the aligned positional information. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The JC entry determining method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining, by the controller, that the vehicle enters the JC when the JC entrance is present, the width of the right space of the vehicle is equal to or greater than a preset width, and the type of lane is a double lane. 
 
     
     
       3. The JC entry determining method according to  claim 2 , further comprising:
 determining, by the controller, that the vehicle enters the JC when the JC entrance is present, the width of the right space of the vehicle is equal to or greater than the preset width, and a condition in which the type of lane is the double lane is maintained for a preset time. 
 
     
     
       4. The JC entry determining method according to  claim 2 , further comprising:
 determining, by the controller, whether the vehicle enters the JC when the vehicle enters the JC, and when the vehicle changes a lane to the right lane. 
 
     
     
       5. The JC entry determining method according to  claim 4 , further comprising:
 determining, by the controller, that the vehicle exists from the JC when the left lane of the vehicle is the double lane while the vehicle is being driven inside the JC and the width of the left space of the vehicle is equal to or greater than the preset width. 
 
     
     
       6. The JC entry determining method according to  claim 5 , further comprising:
 determining, by the controller, whether the vehicle exits outside the JC when the vehicle exits from the JC and when the vehicle changes a lane to the left lane. 
 
     
     
       7. The JC entry determining method according to  claim 1 , wherein the determining whether the JC entrance is present includes:
 determining, by the controller, that the JC entrance is present when a right guardrail of the vehicle is not parallel with a left lane or a left guardrail of the vehicle. 
 
     
     
       8. A junction (JC) entry determining apparatus, comprising:
 a radar sensor configured to acquire positional information of a vehicle surrounding object using a radar; 
 a controller having a processor and a memory and configured to:
 determine whether a JC entrance is present using the positional information; 
 determine a width of a right space of the vehicle using the positional information; 
 capture an image of a vehicle surrounding environment; 
 determine a type of right lane of the vehicle using the captured image; and 
 determine whether the vehicle enters the JC based on whether the JC entrance is present, the width of the right space of the vehicle, and the type of lane, 
 wherein the positional information includes a distance and an angle value from the vehicle to the vehicle surrounding object, and 
 wherein the controller is further configured to:
 detect positional information on a guardrail in the positional information; 
 align the detected positional information in an angle order; and 
 determine whether the JC entrance is present, in response to determining that a discontinuous point at which the distance is increased or reduced to a preset distance or more is present by comparing the distances of the aligned positional information.